In the afternoon, Song Xueyang and the others indeed started their training. Shen Huai, feeling bored, tagged along to the training room.
Song Xueyang set up a computer for him. “We’ll train until about 7 PM and then go for dinner. If you’re bored, just play around for a bit.”
Shen Huai nodded and sat down in a chair.
This training room was clearly meant for the main team members. According to the official regulations of “City of Despair” for professional teams, each team consists of seven players, and this room had exactly seven computers.
But currently, only four computers were occupied, while the rest of the desks were empty, clearly without owners yet.
With only four members left in the seven-member team, it was undoubtedly a critical transition period for Maple Moon. Whether they could maintain their top-eight position in next year’s professional league depended on the level of players Song Xueyang could recruit this year.
Shen Huai walked quietly behind a few of them and peeked at their computers, discovering they were all playing the same mini-game.
On a pure black background, wooden planks fell one by one. The player-controlled character needed to keep jumping onto other planks. The planks fell quickly, and hesitating for even a second would result in falling into a sea of fire. Meanwhile, mini-bosses would randomly appear in the corners of the game interface, releasing scatter shots. The player had to ensure the character wasn’t hit by these while jumping onto the planks.
Professional players’ daily training isn’t limited to the competition game. Many simple-rule, single-operation mini-games are more suitable for practice. This particular mini-game was clearly used to train movement and reaction skills.
Shen Huai watched from behind for a while. Zhou Ning’s counter on the screen showed 935, indicating he had jumped on 935 planks. His technique was very steady, staying on each plank for a relatively long time but always jumping at the optimal moment.
Haixing’s counter was at 1372, and the speed of the planks on his screen was already very fast. Two bosses appeared simultaneously on the game interface, and the scatter shots looked like fireworks. His jumps were chaotic, and the character seemed to be bouncing around randomly, always giving the impression of almost falling. Yet, he neither fell into the fire nor got hit by bullets, which was quite surprising.
Fan Jingming’s counter was also in the 700s. He jumped very quickly, barely staying on each plank for a moment before swiftly finding the next foothold.
Shen Huai glanced at Song Xueyang’s computer last and was shocked to see his counter showing 2614, twice as much as the others!
The planks on the screen fell like meteors, almost too fast to see, and four bosses appeared simultaneously around, with scatter shot effects almost filling the entire screen, making it a trap everywhere!
Yet, Song Xueyang remained calm and composed, smiling lightly. His character, like a hyperactive teenager, jumped twice on each plank, looking very rhythmic.
Shen Huai’s competitive spirit was instantly ignited. He returned to his computer and found the same mini-game, where a pixelated character appeared on the screen.
The character was simple to control, requiring only the four directional keys on the keyboard for left and right movement, and up and down for jumping and landing.
In his first two attempts, Shen Huai either fell into the sea of fire or got hit by bullets around the 600 mark, but he quickly figured out the pattern.
At most, two planks could appear simultaneously on the same level. The boss’s scatter shot skill was very easy to get hit by when close, but as long as he stayed far away and waited for the scatter shots to spread out, he could dodge through the gaps. Each boss existed for 30 seconds, and at most, two bosses would release skills simultaneously. He just needed to remember the boss’s refresh order to dodge them.
Sure enough, this attempt went much smoother than the previous ones. Shen Huai jumped all the way to 2583, almost surpassing Song Xueyang, when Song Xueyang suddenly stood up and clapped his hands.
“Basic training is over. Everyone pair up for a duel.”
Shen Huai was startled and quickly clicked the close button in the top right corner. Realizing that Song Xueyang hadn’t noticed him, he didn’t bother to open it again.
This was his first time experiencing the atmosphere of a professional team’s training. In the training room, apart from the sound of keyboards and mouse clicks, there was no other noise. Everyone was focused on their computers, and when they occasionally communicated with their teammates, it was very brief, sometimes only needing one or two words.
This kind of tacit understanding wasn’t just from years of fighting side by side but also from the game awareness that only people at the same level could have.
Shen Huai was clearly in the same room with them, yet he couldn’t integrate into this intense atmosphere at all. He felt a bit envious, and more so, he longed for the life of a professional player.
Suddenly, the sound of a video call rang out in the training room. Shen Huai quickly turned off the media volume and said, “Sorry,” but no one paid him any attention. Everyone’s focus was on their computers, without any change in expression.
Shen Huai was a bit shocked and didn’t say more, quickly leaving the training room and heading to the restroom at the end of the hallway.
The video call was from his father, Shen Nuo, who was clearly on set. Through the half-open door behind him, busy staff and extras in costumes could be seen.
Shen Nuo immediately asked, “You know the company is about to release a termination statement, so why are you running around?”
Shen Huai replied, “A class reunion. Liu Yueran posted about it on Weibo before.”
“Oh, do I have to find time to check your classmate’s Weibo?” Shen Nuo’s face was serious. His features were somewhat similar to Shen Huai’s, but more rugged. The marks of time on his face made him look even more resolute, with a calm demeanor of someone in a high position.
Shen Huai didn’t speak. Seeing the unfamiliar background behind his son, Shen Nuo asked, “Is the team you jumped off the car for last night the one you want to join?”
“No.”
Shen Nuo didn’t quite believe him. After a moment of thought, he said, “How about I sponsor their team?”
Shen Huai: “…”
He thought his dad probably assumed he was too weak and got rejected by the team.
“No need.”
“Why are you being stubborn?”
“I’m not. With my skills, I can join a professional team without your intervention.”
Shen Nuo was momentarily speechless. He felt his son was growing up, and he increasingly didn’t know how to care for him.
Seeing his son unhappy about his intervention, he didn’t mention the sponsorship again, only reminding him, “Choosing a team is like choosing a film. While the quality of the script is important, the director’s professional level and the actors’ skills are the soul of a movie. Without a good director and actors, even the best script can turn into a bad film. Don’t just focus on the team’s reputation. Past achievements are history. The captain’s leadership ability and the players’ potential are the keys to continuing the legend.”
Shen Huai was surprised. He hadn’t expected his father to say such things, let alone that someone who knew nothing about the e-sports industry could offer such insightful advice.
Shen Nuo snorted, “Why so surprised? Your dad always knows more than you!”
Soon, an assistant came to call him for filming, and the video call ended. Shen Huai looked at the mirror on the wall, recalling the focused figures in the training room.
Song Xueyang’s leadership skills were undeniable. He had turned a decorative team into one that all professional teams feared today, relying not only on his personal strength but also on his commanding ability that earned his teammates’ complete trust.
The remaining team members, after Song Xueyang’s intentional reshuffling, were all very serious and diligent. Shen Huai could see that Song Xueyang was aiming for the trophy, possibly even the championship trophy.
Returning to the training room, everyone was still in the same state as when he left, as if his departure hadn’t caught anyone’s attention. Each person was diligently completing their training tasks, and this atmosphere made him feel a sense of urgency.
He hadn’t logged into the game for three days. Previously, he was an actor, and acting was his main job. But now, he planned to become a professional player. With top players worldwide training against the clock, how could he afford to waste time leisurely?
Shen Huai immediately returned to his seat and clicked on the “City of Despair” icon. He didn’t log into Cang Yu’s account or Mu Wange’s account but created a new account in the professional area.
Looking at the eight major professions in front of him, Shen Huai hesitated for a moment and chose Gunner. The system prompted him to enter a character ID, and thinking of the delicious spicy prawns from lunch, Shen Huai entered “SpicyPrawn777” in the ID interface.
Soon, a newbie Gunner in beginner’s gear was born in the newbie village. “City of Despair” had always been popular, and as the most populated professional area, there were almost always people creating new characters every day, making the newbie village bustling with activity.
The tasks before level 20 were very simple. For someone familiar with “City of Despair” like Shen Huai, it only took about an hour to successfully reach level 20 and enter the first main city, “Norwa.”
At level 20, players could learn about their profession branches from the NPC at the Norwa Psychic Guild and receive corresponding skill points and weapons.
Shen Huai received 10 skill points, which he allocated to Precision Sniping, Gunner’s Instinct, and Reload, and decisively chose a sniper rifle from the weapon list given by the NPC.
With this gun, he could join the hunt for the first level 20 outdoor public boss, “Flame Sa,” and nearby players invited him to join their team.
[Current] [Fruit Flavor VC]: Hunting Flame Sa? Join us!
Shen Huai typed “Okay,” and the person reminded him after seeing his weapon, “Snipers have low output in the early stages and are very hard to play. You should start with a Gunner and switch to Sniper once your level is up.”
In “City of Despair,” each profession branch uses different weapons. Although players can switch skill points at any time, some branch skills require specific weapons. For example, most skills in the Sniper branch have weapon requirements—must equip a gun muzzle.
Shen Huai typed, “It’s fine.”
Fruit Flavor VC didn’t say more. After all, with so many people, they could take down a level 20 public boss no matter what.
Warriors and Swordsmen immediately went up to draw aggro, while Mages and Gunners output from the back. Shen Huai found a relatively distant spot, lay down, and entered sniping mode.
The Sniper branch’s characteristic is that the farther the distance, the higher the damage, and successful sniping returns 50% of the mana cost. However, long-distance sniping requires predicting the enemy’s movement, and the farther the distance, the harder it is. Shen Huai’s sniping accuracy significantly dropped beyond 800 meters, and there were only a few like Song Xueyang who could snipe heads from over 1500 meters away.
The boss was quickly defeated by the group, and Shen Huai, lying on the ground, thought of Song Xueyang’s signature skill, Rolling Snipe, and impulsively wanted to try it.
He pressed the backflip skill while pressing Reload, and his index finger quickly tapped the “Gunner’s Instinct” skill key. Unfortunately, his character rolled out, but the gun didn’t come up.
Unwilling, he picked up the gun and tried again. This time, the gun didn’t drop, but the backward movement and aerial sniping effect of “Gunner’s Instinct” didn’t trigger. After trying a couple more times, either the gun dropped, or the character didn’t roll out, making him realize once again how difficult the Rolling Snipe operation was.
He sighed, took off his headphones, and a cup of water was placed in front of him.
Shen Huai quickly turned around to see Song Xueyang standing behind him with a smile, “Have some water.”
Feeling awkward, Shen Huai thanked him and looked at the screen, where his little sniper had dropped the gun, wishing he could just pull the plug.
Did he see it? He definitely saw him secretly imitating him!
Shen Huai held the paper cup, not daring to lift his head from it. He could only be thankful he was playing as a Sniper. Playing poorly at least wouldn’t make Song Xueyang suspicious.
Just as he thought this, Song Xueyang’s voice floated down from above, “Your hand speed and reaction are pretty good. You might want to try playing as an Assassin.”
Shen Huai turned his head, “Why do you think my hand speed and reaction are good?”
Song Xueyang smiled and pointed to the desktop where Shen Huai had just played the mini-game, then accurately reported his score, “2583.”
How did he know!! His computer was clearly facing away from him!
Shen Huai opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Song Xueyang’s eyes curved, the tear mole under his eye shining brightly, “Everyone’s final score automatically aggregates to my computer.”
Shen Huai: “…”